Vrouwelijk naakt op een bedrand c. 1887 - 1892

Willem Witsen created this sketch of a nude woman on paper, though the date remains unknown. This work enters into the well-worn artistic terrain of the nude, but what does it tell us about the place of the female body in the Netherlands at the turn of the 20th century? Witsen's quick sketch captures a moment of private vulnerability. Made in the Netherlands, a country undergoing rapid industrialization and social change, it's easy to see this work as a comment on the changing role of women. The Dutch art world, like many others at the time, was grappling with questions of representation, sexuality, and social norms. Was Witsen challenging the established, often male-dominated, art institutions by depicting a more intimate, less idealized view of the female form? To understand this sketch better, a dive into the archives of Dutch art academies and exhibition records might reveal more about the artistic debates of the time. This would shed light on how artists and institutions shaped the perception and meaning of the female nude.